Moments D539: No Turkey Thanksgiving Part Two

I spent today with four of the most magical people I know.  Today was about spending time with my Aunt, Uncle and their two beautiful girls who call me "Aunt".

Huh?

Well - that's because my aunt is actually more of a big sister to me.  Being only 8 years older than I, she and I have spent many, many hours together and ridden through many life changes (hers and mine!) in the near 40 years that I've been on this planet.  

Today, after a 7 day stretch at work, she and her family were insistent upon having a low key day.  (Who could blame them!) My Aunt made me a deal:  The only way I was allowed to come over was if I was okay with couch surfing, TV-watching, drinking and puttering.  Duh!  OF COURSE, I was in!

In the end, I helped with some yard work (strangely enough, that was a task of tying back grasses that actually came from the flower pots present at my outdoor wedding 10 years ago.  Amazing to see just how beautifully they have grown!)  and I helped fold laundry.  Comfortable and casual.  

As we sat outside drinking in the warm fall sun and sipping our Jack & cranberry, we caught up.  As time slipped by, we shared stories of the past (nearly) two months.  Much has changed in both "families" (me a very small family!).  As always, insights and opinions were shared both ways.  It was a beautiful afternoon and one that I will not soon forget.

For dinner, we met up with my Mom and Dad for a VERY laid back Thanksgiving dinner.  The seven of us piled into a van (driven by {gasp} the eldest non-niece!) and made our way to Swiss Chalet.    There we had one of the best "No Turkey Thanksgiving dinners" ever together as a family.  

So, while this year's Thanksgiving was anything but traditional in terms of the food eaten, one thing remained a constant - I was very thankful for the most awesome family that I have in my life.   I promise to never take them for granted.  

Moments enjoying a lazy day with your "sister" and her beautiful family.

Moments being thankful and realizing just how fortunate I am.

Moments D538: Honest Ed's

I have lived in Toronto since 1996.   Yes.  That's 17 years. AND.....I have NEVER been in Honest Ed's before.

SHOCKING.  Right?  I mean it's a local iconic building/store and I've been in the Bloor/Bathurst area more times than I can count.

And I've NEVER stepped foot into Honest Ed's.

Knowing that Honest Ed's is now up for sale, and given that my Mom, Dad and I were in the area for a show early, the three of us decided to go for a whirl through the store.

WOW.  What a moment!  Walking through this iconic space for the first time was a moment.  It was, as everyone describes it, a discount/flea-market-feeling store.  It smelled of moth balls (though not nearly as bad as I had expected it) and it had a ton of old Honest Ed`s memorabilia all around the store.  It brought with it a flood of memories.

For example:  I can remember, as a child, coming into the city for a show, or for a weekend getaway with my family, and we would choose between Honest Ed's prime rib place or his Chinese place.  My brother and I were always thrilled to look over the antiques in the restaurant or ogle at the gaudy artwork.

It was a fun moment to share the store with my parents.  Heck, we even found a few wares to buy while we were in Honest Ed's.  I purchase a couple of expandable wiener skewer for roasting hot dogs over an open fire.  Cool.  Right?  (AND I'm SURE my nephews will love them!)  My Dad, well, he managed to pick up two NBA jerseys for $2.99 each.  Sure they were 2XXL in size, but they are perfect as a night shirt.

So many weird and wild things in that store.  Now, knowing what I do, I might even have to make another trip over there when I have more time to browse through the store.

Moments when you do something unexpected because you  have time.

Moments finally experiencing a local icon.

Moments D537: No Turkey Thanksgiving

Today I had two of my dearest friends join my Mom, Dad & I for dinner. What an incredible evening it was as we swapped stories and ate way more food than we should have.

Proof:



(you see the containers STACKED....right?)

Today's moment hit me when I paused and looked around the table. Here it was Thanksgiving Weekend and I was suddenly very thankful to have friends and family with me today.

It didn't matter that we weren't having the traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings. We were supping together and sharing our lives with one another. That's what mattered most.

I am thankful to be able to have a fancy table to eat upon.
I am thankful to be able to fill said fancy table with delicious HAKKA food.
I am even more thankful that I have friends that are comfortable sharing an evening with my Mom and Dad.
I am even MORE thankful to have such cool, loving parents.

A good start to my Thanksgiving weekend. No doubt.

Moments pausing to be thankful.

Moments appreciating what I have, and who I have in my life.

Moments D536: News!!

Today was not the best of days.  Too much to process, too many tasks to push through.

But in the craze, I had an opportunity to connect with a couple of friends today and share some good news with them.  Their reaction, each unique and yet similar in sentiment, brought a glow to my challenged day.

Before I go on with my story, I suppose I should properly name my best friend couple (BFC).  Let's call them Comic Guy and Archie.  Now, let me back up with my news story.

Last night I spoke with one half of my BFC, Comic Guy.   I was calling to connect with Archie to make arrangements for coffee time today. As Comic Guy and I spoke, I decided to make a bit of a game with my news.  I asked Comic Guy if he could keep a secret from his other half for about 18 hours.  With laughter and amusement, he agreed.  And so, I told him my exciting news.  He wasn't able to really respond given that his love was home with him, so I kept talking and shared with him some of the details.  It was a fun, silly conversation.  And, I knew that Archie would be itching to hear for himself today.  Amusing, right?

Back to today's moment (which is actually two moments about the same exciting news):

First thing this morning I shared out the news with another couple that I love dearly.  The response I received back was so warm, genuine and heartfelt.  It brought a tear to my eye and warmed my heart with a smile.  I was reminded that I am surrounded by loving friends.

Later in the morning, I had my coffee date with Archie.  As he, his business partner and I walked to the coffee place, I found myself antsy. Unable to hold onto the news any longer, I spilled the beans as we walked.  Stopping dead in his tracks, with a huge smile upon his face, he scooped me up in his arms with a big hug.  We spent the next 30 minutes talking about some of the finer details. How incredible that felt!  And, of course, we had a laugh (or two) over how Comic Guy knew about the news and used that as a tool to poke at Archie all last night.  Too much fun for one moment!

Fortunately today's warm fuzzy moments eases the sting I've been feeling from others being silent.

Moments getting a chance to share exciting news.

Moments enjoying the reactions filled with love and support.

Moments D535: One with the ball

Tonight was volleyball.  It took me nearly 2 hours to get to the gym in the craziest rush-hour traffic I think I've ever experienced.  It's typically a 35 minute drive without traffic.  Nuts right?

And then I played volleyball.

I was (obviously) quite late.  Not only had I missed our first game, they were ready to play the second game.  One of my teammates popped her head into the change room to see if I'd be ready to play the second game.  HELL YA!  (As I rushed around like a mad woman to finish getting ready!)

We were playing quite tightly during the second game.  I, having had no warm up time, was a little stiff and nervous to dive in, but dive in I did.  Surprisingly my feet were fast and I was picking up balls that normally would escape me.  And then I had my first service.  FLOP.  I totally mucked it up.  (sigh)

But then, as a team we held them back; we keep killing our pick-ups and  working together as a team.  Before I knew it I was serving again.  I paused.  Breathed.  And then silently told myself that I was one with the ball.

I served 8 killer serves to win the game!

DANG that felt good!  Winning forced the match to a third deciding game.  Our team captain put me into position where I had to serve first.  Since ti worked last time I tried it again and thought to myself, "I am one with the ball."  I served 5 great serves to give us a solid lead.

In the end we won our first match.  And thought we lost our second match, we played very well and made them work for it!  (Our losses were very close games!)

What a great evening for volleyball.  We ran late.  It definitely made up for the two hour drive.

Moments watching the post-rush-hour annoyance melt away in the spike of a ball.

Moments visualizing that "I am one with the ball".

Moments D534: Strangers and Burritos

Today I headed back to Toronto.  It was mostly a boring travel day....until I hit Cleveland.  There I met Bill from Minnesota.

Bill and two of his co-workers sat down close by with three big fat burritos.  I was immediately jealous and he caught me eyeing his burrito.  I asked him where he managed to find the burrito place was, after all I had toured around a bit and hadn't seen anything appetising to pick up for dinner.  Bill told me it was waaaaaay down at the beginning of the concourse.  I was at gate 27.  Blarg!  I laughed and told  him to let me know if it was worth the long walk!

And as he dug into his dinner, he shared that it was indeed a great burrito and well worth "hoofing it down there".  And then, we began an interesting conversation - complete strangers.  We swapped work titles and where we live info.  He's a prof from Minnesota returning home from a tech conference in Ohio (and yes it was worth the trek).  We had two very interesting conversations from that point onwards.  (What a great way to pass the time!)

First, when Bill found out that my love from SoCal was into skydiving, he had a million and one questions for me.   I happily indulged him, after all, I just left my love.  An easy conversation, only to find out that Bill passed on an opportunity to do a tandum jump as a friend of the family, with 500 jumps, had had a fatal accident.  His wife begged him not to do the jump.  And so, the million and one questions about the sport.  Interesting how conversations roll sometimes.

Second, Bill finding out I was a Canadian led to him asking me my opinion about our health care system.  Ah.  Very deep for a second conversation.  Not knowing what side of the fence Bill was sitting, I was completely honest with him and shared with Bill my feeling that I was grateful for it.  I very much believe that if we didn't have health care, my Dad would likely not be with us as he's spent many years very sick.  We talked quite a bit about it all.  His side of it is that he doesn't really know what Obama Care was all about, but he was nervous about the ever increasing costs of health care in the states.

After our conversations, Bill offered to watch my bag and laptop (charging) if I was ready to "hoof it down" to burritos.  And so, I took my key documents and wallet and trusted the rest of my wares with a complete stranger.  What?

As I walked from gate 27 passed gate 2 to the food court I was thinking to myself:  Have I lost my mind?

And then I found out that the burrito place was closed for the evening (no burritos after 8 pm apparently!).  Bummer!  So I made my way back to my waiting area.

Of course, my carry-on and laptop were exactly where I left them.  (phew!)  When I share the disappointing news with Bill, he was sympathetic and chided me for eating dinner so late.  Shortly thereafter, it was time for him to board his plane.  He made it a point to come over to me, shake my hand and wish my partner and I all the best of luck in our new adventures.

Incredible really how much you can get to know someone in a couple of hours.

Moments sharing stories with a stranger.

Moments trusting that the stranger is good peeps and finding out he really is.

Moments D533: Pause & Acknowledge

Today was a day touring about Lake Elsinore and doing typical couple-like things.  It was quite a day. And though our dinner this evening with two of EQ's amazing friends was incredible (and well worth a nod as the moment of the day), today's moment goes a little deeper within me.

Today's moment comes from late this afternoon.  It was a moment where I found myself over thinking things and overwhelmed with the changes to come.  A swirl of emotions.  A never ending checklist in my mind which was present all day and it became oppressive.  My breathing was shallow and my mind simmering with all that needs to get done.  It wasn't quite a panic attack, but it wasn't far off.

And just as those feelings rose to the surface.  It was seen.  I'm typically quite good at concealing, but in that moment, where I was caught up in the hurricane of emotions and thoughts, EQ caught my eye, asked me how I was, quickly enveloped me into his arms, placed his hand upon my heart and looked deep into my eyes.  And then we breathed.  With a few deep breaths and fewer words, my anxiety dulled down to a more manageable buzz instead of the whirl it had been.

Moments feeling on the edge and antsy.

Moments realizing your partner sees you and can calm you just by acknowledging the feeling.